Gundam as a kid and Gundam as an adult are two very different shows with evoke very different feelings. While kid me preferred Wing due to the action focus, adult me recognizes the absolute genius of the original.

Fun fact: The Feddie designs are toy-like as a result of Sunrise wanting them to sell well as toys (as was said in the video), but the Zeon designs were completely untouched by Sunrise, who basically gave the designer free reign - hence why Zeon's mobile suits and mobile armors are so unique and varied, and specifically why the Zaku has a somewhat more militaristic, purpose-built design. Also, the reason why the names for mobile suits and mobile armors are so weird is because Tomino (it may have been someone else, admittedly) just wanted to see how weird he could make the names before the suits started questioning him on them. That's why a lot of the suits in the series have such weird, particular names: they were basically just sounds that he had made and decided to use as their names.

Toonami proudly presents the most groundbreaking anime series of all time Mobile Suit Gundam, still recall Peter Cullen hyping us with this back in the 2000s and he was right

One thing missing from this video -- Clover Toys. Clover sponsored the production of Mobile Suit Gundam, and they were why the colors for the White Base and RX-79 were changed from Tomino's vision of essentially space camouflage to the bright super-robot color scheme we get in the show. It's also *probably* why we get so many random side mechs showing up -- it's very likely that Clover was looking to pump the show for as many different toys as possible. This is particularly interesting because, while gunpla absolutely rescued the series, Tomino has spoken about how the fans he remembers showing up early on were mostly women who weren't really interested in the toy line -- it wasn't until after cancellation that he noticed a large number of male fans.

One thing I always appreciate when it comes to Tomino's work is his attention to the weight and scale of the battles. The moment my brain always goes to is the scene in F91 where a woman evacuating a battle inside a colony with her baby gets concussed to death by a falling casing from a mobile suit's machine gun. For a weapon that, in a lot of the spin-offs and games, essentially comes off as a chip damage tool, there's something chilling about being reminded that even that is devastating on the human scale.

This was my favorite series. Now I watched Wing as a pre-teen and was like "teens in Giant robots awesome!". This one came out on Cartoon Network when I was in 8th grade/high school. My dad wasn't a big anime fan, and would often make fun of me for it, but he watched this one and got really interested, because it faced the horrors of war and how it effects everyone. He was shocked that an anime with bright colors and such had these deep messages. (he fought in Vietnam, so he understood how Amuro's PTSD reaction pretty well.) Since then, although he somewhat enjoys other Gundam series, this one he still will watch.

Hearing Gundam originally flopped is so wild to me. I haven’t watched a ton of old anime, but the og Gundam show is so good to me, and I watched it way after nostalgia could be a factor.

When you watch Gundam origin, you really appreciate this show even more.

This is my favorite anime series. I started watching it bc of Char's character arc but fall in love with the whole franchise as a whole.

Coming to this video after finishing the show. Bright was ONLY 19?! Jesus, dude… Honestly, everything you said was on point. I loved this show

Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, and Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack are absolute perfection imo.

I like the series. It had character development. Amuro was very interesting character. The series wasn't afraid to tackle dark themes. Both sides are very human. Char was a great rival and very complex. This series is still great to watch.

Re-watched this, Z, and ZZ. Forgot how amazing this anime is. Seriously holds up. I find myself enjoying it more the older I get. It's gotten me back into Gunpla again too.

Small nitpicks. 1.While sunrise did quickly partner with a toy company it was Poppy not bandai. 2.Piloted Mecha were extremely common at that time after Mazinger popularized it, What makes gundam and real robot unique was that the Enemy was also Human instead of mosters etc.

I'm going through this show as of this writing, and holy crap even 40+ years on, it still holds up. It doesn't matter if you watch it with JP audio or EN audio, this show is some of the finest television in animation history. For newbs, I'd also recommend season 1 of the OVA series Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt (aka. December Sky, which is what it was called once it made it to home video), which is set in an alternate timeline alongside the original series and is an encapsulation of many of the themes Mobile Suit Gundam '79 pioneered and explored. It also boasts some truly impressive animation and character moments. Not that it matters, because if you're looking for something tougher to chew on, G-'79 and Thunderbolt are perfect entry points into a franchise that provides you with just that (most of the time). Fun fact: I'm not that big into anime! That's right, I'm not massive into the artform, but Mobile Suit Gundam just speaks to me on such a level, man. Mainline Gundam and Lupin the Third are my go-to anime franchises.

Thinking about it now, Tomino wanted the gundam to originally be uniform gray. Obviously that never ended up happening but in Gundam Seed (which has similarities to the first Gundam series in the first few episodes) the Gundams are all grey before phaseshift armor is activated. Don't know if thats intentional, but thought it was interesting.

I just recently watched the original after growing up with Gundam because of Wing back on Toonami. I never could appreciate the original when I was younger but looking at it now for what it was, I enjoy it a lot. On a side note, if you go frame by frame when Char shoots Kaischillia you can see part of her torso go past the screen, mangled from the explosion with half of her rib cage exposed, it's kind of crazy that this was just on regular TV back then.

Amuro saluting his mother and then walking away? Oof. Almost two decades after first seeing it, it still hits hard!

You're actually not wrong on the grooming part as far as Char is concerned. Lalah is practically the same age as Amuro and it's even worse when you factor in her backstory from Tomino's novel adaptation of the series.

What was pretty funny about this is when Mquva says that he has enough resources to supplies zeon for 10 years and it's true seeing it in the other see U. C Gundam adaptations series

I've seen a few of these types of videos, each and every one reminds me why I love the Gundam franchise so much. Whether by accident or intentionally, it contains so much wisdom and doesn't shy away from difficult topics.. plus, you know, giant freakin' robot fights. It's a true joy, that's had an immeasurable impact on my own philosophy.

tomino succeeded for sure. im a 20 year old who grew up with sci fi like halo and mass effect, and right from the start when i started watching gundam i knew i was in for something special. its so iconic for a reason.

I swear to god, there was some time magic going on when they made this series. Just describing what happens in episodes like 3, the solomon battle or the final battle make you wonder how the fk they were able to fit so much action, dialogue, and character in only 1 or 2 episode arcs.

The numerous skips after the break are the only flaws in this video.

Gundam is the sole reason why I love mecha overall on majority of other related stuff

That was excellent. I’ve watched the original series in three languages and was around when it first aired. You captured the essence of the show succinctly. This would be a very good summary for new fans. Nice job!

I agree with the point you made on how the introduction of Lalah and the concept of new types in general really do help keep the show fresh as it progresses towards it conclusion. It was something I noticed on my original watch and I was also surprised that the show went into this direction. The word I would use for that “otherworldly feel” you describe is psychedelic. The video feels a bit superficial at times and I wish that it dig deeper in its analysis. But overall, this video was enjoyable and I think it does a good job at highlighting certain aspects of the show.

The show is alright and gets really good towards the end,Char vs Amuro final battle was awesome.

Its been YEARS since i watched the orginal show, actually rewatching the show now. I forgot how funky some of the music was lol. Its such a campy goodness. I absolutely LOVE the character of Char. Legit one of my favorite gundam characters. Btw i hear those mass effect themes in the background. I LOVE that presidium theme

It’s good to have a fellow Gundam fan and provide a great look at this anime series and the legacy it has made.

Despite a couple audio issues and cut sentences damn good retrospective and a nice way to refresh knowledge before jumping into following UC shows

Watched it from the beginning in 1980 in HK. It was not called anime back then. Everyone watched it. kids, teens, adults. 1. more people die in that episode 1 then the combine history of all cartoon to date. 2. Death was actually shown in fully detail. 3. Amuro destroy the zaku, and its nuclear reactor exploded the blow a giant hole in the space colony kills many. Amuro aims for the 2nd zaku pilot because he does not want to cause more damage to the space colony. That itself was deep for a cartoon. 4. There was no clear good side and bad side. Zeon was fighting for independence. The earth Federation was fighting to keep control. One person's freedom fighter is another's terrorist Both sides did not hold back and committed war crimes. 5. The good guy's white base crew and amuro fight because they had to, not because they want to. 6. Char is the best anime character of all time. He was getting revenge for his family by appearing to be someone else, doing their deeds. Yet did not think twice about stabling them in their backs. 7. Red zeon mobile suit. 3 times as fast as the normal ones lol. 8. Not your typical happing ending, especially for a cartoon series. Which is a first its time. It was not a happy ending for both sides. Amuro and his friends survived. Earth survived; zero colonies survived. Many dead on both sides. There was no winners at the end. 9. Gundam models (yes, gundam models not gunpla. gunla was not a term back them) and toys was massive in 1980. Toys stores in HK was always out. 10. I rank Mobile suit gundam as number 2 all time U.C. gundam series. Zeta gundam is number 1. Uniron is number 3 and the 2nd half of double zeta is number 4. U.C. timeline is the best timeline. Mobile suit gundam was not your typical cartoon series for its time. It was groundbreaking.

Keep these coming. Gundam is probably my favorite anime series and I’ll always enjoy deep dive videos on the series.

Gundam is the space opera i always wanted but couldnt find in all 3 star wars trilogies. Im so glad i finally plucked the courage to get into uc, best decision ive ever made

I started getting into Gundam this year and am currently watching the original from 79 and Witch of Mercury😊 The series is so vast but amazing! Great world building and characters. Plus, the themes, sociopolitical allegory and dark tone are so well done. I only got into anime and manga three years ago and prior, since my childhood in Nigeria, i never had a chance to watch it.

I actually got into this franchise relatively recently. I've always had an interest in action figures, so when I learned I could order and build my own, I got pretty excited. But that little GM on my shelf got me curious. Not knowing where to start, I jumped blind into the original series. What a ride. Gundam is an awesome show, and Amuro is still my favorite protagonist in the franchise.

I love Ghiren. "Space Hitler, Son of Space Stalin." is basically just this beautifully perfect way to make a villain.

Something of a correction, but the "giant robot as vehicles" was actually done by most Super Robot anime first, especially the pioneer Mazinger Z, the most iconic of Super Robots that introduced the concept of giant robots as vehicles to be ridden. In fact, some end fights for many Super Robot series had both mecha combatants be piloted, typically with the enemy mech piloted by the main antagonist. What Gundam did was turn the mecha from a unique "savior of humanity" into a "weapon of war" and all it entails.

I just found your channel and honestly i love your content already. It's well made.

I’m glad you found success with these gundam retrospectives. I am grateful for these as I just got into gundam because of the witch from mercury and these help explain the history of the series. Thanks

Hey this was sick AF, having just watched the movies on twitter the general storyline is fresh on my mind. As an artist the visual hand painted style is pure eye candy, I could literally watch it muted on tv and still have a blast enjoying it. Truly a mark on an era

I saw this anime for the first time only a couple of years ago. It absolutely does hold up after all this time.

Oh man I thought I was dreaming for a second. I heard that Metroid prime three music at 38 minutes.😂

I was about to watch your Char's Counter attack video but then I was like if he did Char he might have did the original and here I am. Mobile Suit Gundam is my all time favorite Gundam. I recently had a Gundam marathon and I will say Char's counter attack didn't age well for me but Mobile Suit Gundam is still a classic

Mobile suits looking human makes all the violence more intimate in my opinion. I try to think about how Amuro killing that man in the zaku in episode one would be different if instead it were him shooting down his spaceship or blowing up a tank. it just wouldn't be the same

I checked this one out on a whim some years ago and it really took me by surprise, I was expecting an okay action series but I was blown away by how remarkably deep the storytelling was, how layered the characters were and how heavy the themes hit. I actually thought this was something of an underrated series, might sound silly given how big Gundam is but, this series wasn't and still isn't held in very high regard, but I thought it was amazing. The ending actually made me cry, pretty much the only anime series that has. Obviously it had its flaws, the animation is charming but wobbly at times, and it can be a bit repetitive but everything just sort of works out in the end. I enjoyed this so much I can't bring myself to watch the sequel series, so I checked out the sideways shows like War in the Pocket and 08th MS team instead, and just like this I was blown away by how deep the characterization is, even when the storytelling isn't perfect, they put so much effort into making the people feel real, it gets me every time. Masterful series.

So glad I found this channel. Became a massive Gundam fan when I first fell in love with Wing on Toonami. Great videos, keep em coming!

I do enjoy how the main character is a raid boss and the antagonists are the underdogs who need everything to pull a win.

26:45 ah good old Stellaris music. I know that hypnotic melody lost many hours to it

Awesome recap of my most beloved anime! I was 14 when it first showed on Italian tv in early 1980 and loved it since. I watch the original series at least once a year, I’m a huge collector and gunpla modeler and went to Japan in 2014 specifically to see the 1:1 scale RX-78-2 statue at Odaiba Gundam Front in Tokyo.

Funnily enough, some of those civilians you mentioned were killed by mortar fire from their own side.

Thanks for the video, this brings back childhood memory. Growing up in Hong Kong Gundam was huge, I was 7 when Gundam debut. I would say this anime had a great affect on how I found my passion of art, design, and technology which shaped my career. I recently visited the Gundam Factory in Yokohama, seeing the full scale Gundam was a mix of emotions and excitement.

Thank you so much for this content. I had one of the Gundam games for PS2 when I was a kid and was always enthralled with it but in understand most of the story. I just got a new Gundam game recently and all the animes are hard to access so it's really nice to be able to get a grasp of the storyline.

7:05 compare this moment to the end of iron blooded orphans when akhiro crushes iok. War is war, gundam never fails to remind you.

Lovin' your music game; Parasite Eve, Dynasty Warriors Gundam, Mass Effect. Rundas from Metroiiiiiid Really hope your channel takes off, you have one of the best (and only) comprehensive retrospectives on the franchise

Really good man. I love the way you describe this show. A show I love so much. Can’t wait for you to do stardust memory, or thunderbolt, etc to the UC timeline

Wow this show is soo dark and intense. I can't believe this is what the young kids in gundam build fighters were obsessed with lol

51:20 actually, it is... its literally decorative swords in some sort of meeting room; the kind of old military fancy shit that zeon would occasionally have in their bases.

Just saw this from your post on the subreddit man. I love retrospectives like this and would love to see it continue I to the rest of the UC and/or the AU's.

Thank you for your work. You are a great host and your storytelling and voice are so good for this Kind of content . I hope you stay healty and live a long happy life

Great video. The movie trilogy is my favorite way to watch this story. I think it's a really well edited version that better maintains its narrative throughline. Honestly, that's my take with Zeta as well, though I know that's a really contentious topic among fans due to the changes. Looking forward to watching your other videos! I think it would be great if you saw this through to Unicorn, though I suppose that depends on how you feel about that one.

My first introduction to Gundam was actually the game Journey to Jaburo, and after finding out that fantastic game had an anime I was immediately off to watch it. It's always a tear jerking treat.

The reason many of the mobile suits have goofy names is because Tomino wanted to see if the higher ups actually paid attention to the scripts or storyboards. He said it was with the Gelgoog that he knew they didn’t read them.

tomino is way ahead of his time

This was a great video! Just finished it! Great job! Can’t wait for more retcon-tent

Love your series man, been binging all day while at work

I have to say, the first time I watched Gundam in the 90s, after I had seen various things from GI Joe to the surprisingly deep in its own regard Exo Squad... it was the episode where Amuro met his father that I really felt like the show was something magical. Something that meant a lot more than most things I had seen at that point. Where it wasn't something like his mother that I could believe he'd ultimately reconcile. Or that he'd find his love with Frau in the heat of war, and other beats I kind of expected "because TV show". Seeing this brain damaged former scientist and father who had been entirely out of touch with reality. Seeing that last bit of hope draining from Amuro as he realized his father was effectively dead and yet not at the same time... that's when it really hit me. That's when the show came together, reminding me of things like my Grandfather when i was just about... 4 years old. And how he had become this thing that basically haunted his home. No longer the man he used to be. And the last tragic memory I have of him before I was forbidden to ever see him again for the last two years he remained alive.

Original MSG has yet to be really bested. At least of the UC shows, nothing has really been as good when lookikg at the whole package although I do love the smaller intimate war stories like Thunderbolt, War in the Pocket, 08th MS Team etc

Earned a sub for the hardwork but mainly because you recognize that shot of the Z;Gok and Char as one of the coolest. Always stuck with me too.

I would love to see you review 70s Super Robot series like Mazinger franchise, Getter Robo and Robot Romance trilogy, which I’ve heard were actually pretty great shows. I’ve always wanted to know if there was old 70s mecha anime that is worth watching, because I find it hard to believe that they were all just formulaic and boring. I mean I think if you want to do more real robot shows first, I understand, but Super Robot is definitely more prominent in the mecha anime bubble

I really like the comic book series Gundam Origin, a re-telling of the original story but elaborates on the character, why things are the way they are. (i.e., why Char wears a mask, why robots and where did they original stem out from, the politics within Zeon, etc.)

Appreciate your Gundam content dude. Falling down the rabbit hole

I think we shouldn't forgot the star wars influence in the world of Gundam.

thanks for helping me get into gundam a year ago Retcon!

I’m just now getting into the UC and started with this. I’m totally down for it!

Yo thanks so much for making this video. My first was gundam wing and i didnt see all of the original gundam!

An entire Gundam playlist? Yes please

I was big into anime right when Gundam Seed was starting, but I've never seen a single gundam/mecha all the way through. So it's cool to watch analysis of the mecha genre.

Man, I have never been more hyped to go play Armored Core 6. This video got me so HYPE!!!

While I haven't seen EVERY gundam series my favorite "char clone" if you can call him that would be Vidar. (Yeah I know you could say Mcgillis was closer to a char clone but only really in the first season, in the 2nd season it was Vidar) Mostly because we see typically see the character, than learn his origin. With Vidar we see the origin, and see the character he becomes as a result.

I recently rewatched the 0079 movie trilogy for the first time in 20 years and oh my god they're still so good, just absolutely fantastic films that are even better as an adult. Easily one of the greatest space operas of all time, made all the better by its no-nonsense understanding that wartime doesn't change the act of murder, it only changes its legal consequences-Cutting to a young Zeon pilot shot down by our hero, a man who would in most other stories never be given a face or a voice, to hear him in terror begging for his mother as his cockpit is consumed by flames stuck with me all these years, I'd scarcely seen anything like it before and it to me it remains a moment exemplifying the right way to tell a war story. Every death should conjure up the image of a family back home getting a visit from an officer bearing a dreaded letter, and Gundam manages to work this into you without being didactic, but simply by demonstrating that the men & women being gunned down aren't automata but real people who have their own stories just as much as our heroes, ones that were cut short in that moment. Interesting note: The creators of Gundam did A LOT of science homework, and similar to how the "Side" colonies are based on the work of Gerard K. O'Neill just a few years earlier, "Newtypes" didn't come out of nowhere but are based on the theories of Timothy Leary developed by others like Robert Anton Wilson in the '60s and '70s, that migration into the directionless, horizonless, weightless environment of space, and having to "start over" in creating our own brand new worlds there from scratch, would release new potentials of human cognition, communication, and perception, including improved ESP, as the scientific community took ESP much more seriously back then (and arguably has started to again in some quarters). Really the only thing made up out of whole cloth is Minovsky particles, in order to take radar detection and targeting out of the equation and return everything to close-range, manual combat (if you pay close attention you can even spot them using IR sensors for detection and comms lasers instead of radio when particle density is high).

In other videos you mentioned you spent way too much time on this, but I really enjoyed the longer further in depth videos. Related to you a lot on the aspects of this show that I enjoyed myself and you earned a subscriber.

Dude fantastic video watched this one after the g gundam one showed up in my feed!

Probably the best and most thorough retrospective of MGS I've seen on youtube. Whatever happaned to you Zeta Gundam Retrospective? I'd really like to see it.

Watching the entire Gundam retrospective, you have gained a new subscriber.

You mention how Amuro and his dad have this odd relationship with each other in the ZZ video. I just want to mention that this was based off of Tomino's relationship with his father who was a military scientist/engineer himself. This was in an NHK documentary that should still be on youtube (I saw it only about 2 months ago). It's different from the NHK documentary on the making of First Gundam. I enjoyed the video. Fair assessment of the show I'd say.

Bro this video was sick! Thanks for sharing. Crazy how new Gundam fans from Witch don’t even know about the history

Another excellent video! thank you. The only thing I don't agree with is the 'mysticism' twist of new type helping the show. I never liked that and I think that series without new type don't lose anything (08th MS Team, 0080, 0083).

Really well done recap, thanks!

This was a nice channel to stumble on and I feel like you deserve a higher subscriber amount. Keep up the great work!

Thanks for the laugh at 'This B* is nuts'. i needed that to start the day. Amazing retrospective.

Found this in the subreddit. Absolute fantastic video! Subbing cause I hope you'll do the rest of the series!!!

i dont understand how people keep underestimating the magnetic coating, it’s a really good idea. you coat the machine in magnets so the (relatively slow moving) joints only have to do like half the work because the magnets complete the motion. that’s a really cool idea for dealing with a machine moving to slow. Especially when the machine’s designer is out of commission so you cant easily replace it.

This is a good video, but something to keep in mind is that the idea of robots being piloted internally wasn't something Gundam started. It dates back to Mazinger Z, which was created by Go Nagai.

My dude. What a fantastic break down!

OG gundam really is a pure classic. I do have some problems with its story and such but it's often easy to look past some of it since it's suppose to be a cartoon. Still my biggest issues is with how much BS gundam is, it takes a beating from a zaku and it's weapons like nothing. Then much later a couple of goofball zeon soldiers plant a few c4s on gundam and it's enough to split it's shield in half and could destroy gundam smdh. It's always these little things that bugged me with the show, still I say it's one of the greats in anime.

you sir are a gem for the gundam retrospective series, hope more subs are in your future! def earned mine >

Brucie Bonus Points for using Mass Effect BGM, love it.

The man in the car in the background at the scene around 19:22～ is said to be Amuro's mother's adulterous lover.

28:40 A noble sacrifice…until you remember the Gundam is almost indestructible and would probably not even have been damaged.